Let's Play Pokemon Snakewood! Chapter 3

I neglected to show this Ether last update. It's cool that there's PP restoration items hanging around, but they fall into the "too cool to use" club for me.



I had also forgotten to give this fine chap the time of day.



I swear to god if that line was taken out of context, it would sound absolutely skeevy. Anyway, a quick demonology note - Andromalius is the 72nd Earl of Hell. He is depicted as a man holding a serpent and is responsible for punishing thieves along with exposing evil and dishonest dealings. All of the possessed corpse enemies in this game reference an Ars Goetian demon, which is cool and all but if they're not important to the story then they're just fodder.

However, he does have a very interesting Pokemon.



Would you look at that. An evil egg.

But seriously though, the Secretegg series of Fakemon are actually the most complex Pokemon in this entire hack. They have the most evolutions out of any Pokemon (outside of Eevee, which I don't think is in this) and all of them are pretty crazy. You can level it up normally, but at a certain point if you give it an Elemental Stone (Fire, Water and Thunder respectively) Secretegg (or rather a later stage of it) will actually evolve into ENTEI, SUICUNE OR RAIKOU.

I am not making this up. It's a really good Pokemon to keep around, even if it's not very interesting sprite-wise.



Pssh. Go after some looters instead. Preferably punish the lot that robbed that one woman blind on the beach.



This is what he was blocking, by the way. This makes grinding a hell of a lot easier later on.



Now we're actually getting somewh-- what is that in the upper left corner



Oh dear god. Shield your eyes, Ambes!



Ambes:

: "... Goddamn, that's barbaric. Let's just take this Super Potion and leave."



: "... You okay, little buddy?"

Ambes:

: [Gives the Pikachu a hug]
Ambes:

Wait a second, who would have done this? The zombies seem very unlikely cause they just eat everything and all the survivors would be more concerned with... you know, surviving. So you got me. Poor Ambes, though.



Inside of the flower house you can find a Wailmer Pail. I don't know why you would use it, as berry planting wasn't even that feasible in the original game. Much less so in a hack as difficult and plot-driven as Snakewood.



: "Lady, do I look like I'm rotting or have blue skin?"



: "And I had to knock out your Pokemon before you could realize that."



"Now I'm lost, tired AND with a fainted Pokemon. I'm surely dead meat."

: "I would be more sympathetic to your plight if I didn't scream 'I'm not a zombie, what is wrong with you' like five times as we fought."



"Go to the city and rid us of the demons. If it'll help, please take this TM09."


That's cool and all, but only Reggie can learn it and even then there's better moves coming up for him anyway. It's the thought that matters.



: "So wait, the zombies can't cross water either? Our region is like 60 percent water! How are they getting anywhere? Bah. How's fishing going for y--"



Of course. He has like three of these, by the way. Hurray for experience fodder!



Up the path, we meet these two (along with another one that was unimportant to show). It's a gruesome sprite edit and all, but why do all of the kids have yellow clothes after they get zombified? Actually, I don't want to know why.




Oh joy, more "puns"! But really. If you prepared, this fight is nothing special. I would complain about how the coloring is inconsistent between the evolutions but zombie Wartortle's evil black eyes kinda scare me.



Rustboro City, at last. I should mention that Rustboro has some of my favorite music out of Gen 3. It's just homey to me. It's only matched by Solaceon in Gen 4 and Lacunosa in Gen 5.

But wait, before we go into the city... I sense a major asshole up ahead. Let's go back and grind a bit more.





... As I was kicking some ass, the egg finally hatched. Into a Mystery Egg, no less.



You know I had to. Benedict, out of every type I expected, wound up being Normal / Bug... which explains why the Leech Life of that other Egg nearly killed Bellamine. Oh well.



"Gasp... gasp... I've been running from the zombies for days now. But they're everywhere. My Pokemon can barely carry on..."


: "Of course you can. I mean, I have like millions of the damn things." [hands her a potion]

Lady: "Thank you, thank you! You literally saved my life. Take this small gift as my gratitude."

: "Aww, it was nothing."



Sweet. This will be useful very soon, actually. Just wait and see.



Also while going back, I found these two kids running back and forth through the trees. I don't even know.

Anyway, let's see what that thing at the entrance to Rustboro is.



It's an evil disembodied head!

... Called Benji.





WHAT THE FUCK DID CUTLERINE DO TO JYNX

I mean hell, Jynx wasn't a favorite of mine in terms of design but this is just hideous. He gave her a chest face. That has eye titties. Grody.

Also rude crude dudes alert as Eye-Eye is actually really goddamn strong for this early in the game. Pound may not be something to write home about, but the Powder Snow she has is dangerous. It can put practically every member to half or below with one use or straight up kill if you're Reggie. (sorry reggie you get all the worst luck )



Zagon earns her keep. By the way, Benedict actually fainted offscreen. That's how strong this thing is. Pray for me.



After beating the (outright mutated what the hell cutlerine) zombie Jynx, Benji just becomes a normal severed head. Joy.

Who is going around decapitating everything?



Anyway, we have a house along with a pen of a zombies. Believe it or not, that's the Pokecenter. Oh, and say hello to Alicia again.



Here we obtain something called the Mush Mask. There is supposed to be a person there but his sprite disappeared for some reason. As for what the Mush Mask does, I have no idea but I guess we're stuck with it now.



"But I think the demons got him. Where'd they take his HMs, I wonder? And what happened to his daughter?"

Believe it or not, this will become relevant in chapter 4. But anyway, let's go bother Alicia!

: "Sup, babe."



"Hmph. I'm surprised you got this far. I thought the demons I left behind in the woods would have taken you down."

: "What?! You're working with them?"

Alicia: "Didn't my trainer class give it away? I'm a Deathcaller, a servant of Lord Gravetric."

: "Who's that?"

Alicia: "Why should I tell YOU anything? But since my demons couldn't get rid of you, I guess I'll have to instead!"

Oh no, how can we possibly --




Alicia has some new Pokemon, but they are practically nothing compared to what you had to deal with to get here. Nor are they that big of a threat compared to the person who comes after her. You should be able to get rid of her arrogant ass easily.

Also, don't worry about all that Gravetric business. It won't come into play until much later on.





[Theme that starts playing after you beat Alicia: May's theme (???)]

: "... Whatever. I've already called up a good number of demons. I'll just file my report back to Verdanturf."

... It just occurred to me that Alicia may have been an optional fight. But I'm pretty sure that was supposed to happen anyway.

Besides, it's fun to kick her ass unlike everybody else here.



Do you want me to rip you apart like the other demons that got in the way?

By the way, I should really put in walk-through-walls to see if he's hiding anything in that house. Anyway, let's go to school!



Doing great. The Demon Horn is just the Quick Claw with a different name. That diary, however...



"We blocked the door today with Derek's corpse but it doesn't seem to do any good. However many times we block it up, the demons always try to eat their way through again... We're running out of food and guns... Elise was taken today. It's just me today. I'm going to do it. With the last bullet..."

... Jesus christ, Cutlerine. This episode is just full of tragedy.



But now for some more plot!

???: Hm. He's late. This is not acceptable.

[Enter a demon corpse from the right]

Dantalion: "I apologize, master. This body is rather slow. It is a result, I believe, of the legs having been removed."

???: "Make sure you acquire another one soon. I will require you to be at your best when we challenge Them."


???: "DON'T mention their names! Being of such power as They can hear their names whispered over many miles. I don't wish to bring down their wrath upon us before we are ready."

Dantalion: "Yes, master."

???: "Be silent. Although I have cloaked us with a field of invisibility, the demons of this place will hear us if we do not keep our voices down. I have found the vessel that is summoning them, however. It is in a cave to the northeast of here. Together, we will dismantle it."

Dantalion: "Yes, master."

This is foreshadowing and all but trust me we will collectively slap our foreheads when we get there.


: "What was that? Who were they? Something about them felt familiar - is it possible that I've met them before? And how is it possible that I could see them when plainly nobody else could?.... I guess it doesn't matter. If they're going to stop these horrific demons, then they're my allies. I'd better go help them! I might even get some answers in the bargain!"

Oh Jack, you're so quick to trust a random stranger accompanied by a loyal demon corpse servant. Never change.



"..... Authorized Personnel only."

: "Whew. That was close. I almost went in somewhere where I wasn't meant to!"

Jack, you're a bit too law-abiding for your own good.



Go into the gym and you can get Rock Tomb. That's neat, I guess. Let's go into the house right next to the gym.



"This Hiker is dead. Someone has hollowed him out with their teeth from behind, so if you wanted to, you could get inside of him and wear him like a suit."


He contains a Zombie Liver, too. Which is just major



"Those zombies in the pen down there? They're food for us, dear. By the way, that's a lovely body you managed to get yourself. Not a scratch on it!"

: "Uh... yeah. Heheh."

So the demons eat the zombies and this guy thinks I'm a demon corpse too. Yeah sure, ok I'm just with it

Also, I think this is a good time for a new grinding session. Cause trust me, we will need it.


This guy has a Dirtkrow. Which is not that much of a problem anymore considering Ambes is properly leveled up.



Ahem.

Orobas (and Dantalion, considering we passed him up when he appeared) are both up next. Orobas is a Great Prince of Hell that essentially serves as an oracle as he knows all the answers and never decieves anyone. He is depicted as a horse that changes into a man at the conjurer's request. (he lost because he was a sissy)

Dantalion, on the other hand, is a Great Duke of Hell that teaches all arts and sciences and comes in many shapes and sizes. Which honestly I can buy because when we see Dantalion next time, he's not in a rotting old person body like the other dumb demons here.



However his companion, Kent the severed head, is much more of a pain in the ass. For you see, he has TWO EYE-EYES. And they both use Powder Snow 100% of the time. Wonderful.

Anyway, I decided to do a bit more talent searching and I came back with a very promising result.





His name is Ace, by the way. I took the screen capture before I put in the name. Sorry about that.



Alice, I'm afraid you're going to be benched.

Alice:

: "We need to switch the team around once in a while. It's nothing personal."

Alice:

Sorry babe. You were a true credit to the team when you were around, but now it's Ace's time to shine. Speaking of him -



He joined us at level five not even 10 minutes ago. THIS IS HOW QUICKLY HE DESTROYED EVERYTHING WHILE TRAINING. (admittedly speed-up helped too)

Such a promising start.



Go up to Route 115 aaand it's blocked off by a tree. That's how you know plot is in that direction. Let's not go there.



Let's instead meet up with the man with the red-colored text.

[He turns around]

: "Wha--?"

???: "Don't pretend to be confused. You can't fool me, even disguised as you are."

: "Who - Who are you? I've lost my memory. And you look familiar......"





???: "Very well. You may call me Gleis. It seems I have mistaken you for someone else. You must possess an uncommonly strong Second Sight in order to be able to see me - and I know only one other human that has that power. That is where my confusion arose from."


: "I overheard you earlier saying you were going to destroy that thing that was making the demons appear. And... I want to help. I came to look for my brother and his girlfriend, but an old woman tole me to drive the demons away. So I said I would and I'm going to. So let me help."


Gleis: "But I am not sure you are quite up to the task. If you please, may I test you first, to see if you may be of any aid?"

: "Of course!"

Gleis: "Then let us begin!"


Well here we go. Gleis here is a Taoist. His trainer class is actually relevant in more than just face value and honestly I kind of like his sprite. Do not let your guard down as he could potentially be the absolute worst opponent so far, hands down.



PANIC ALARM

Faceleech, oh my god. This thing is outright evil. See, it may be a one trick pony (despite it being a Deoxys ripoff) but it's a nasty one trick. See, Faceleech's main gimmick is that it's insanely strong and insanely fast. This thing outspeeds Ambes, who is already pretty damn fast as he is. It could potentially sweep the entire team with a few Poison Fangs.

How are you supposed to beat it if it's so overpowered? See, Faceleech has excellent attack and speed growth (along with Speed Boost of all abilities) but its defenses and health are practically 1. Not even joking.

It is also / type.



Ace used Quick Attack and it took down Faceleech almost instantly. Funny thing, I used Quick Attack with Ambes earlier but it wound up leaving Faceleech with just enough health to murder everybody. So as far as I'm concerned, this bird came right out of nowhere and saved the entire team.

Get Ace some Kamina Shades and a goddamn beer. He deserves it.



Even his text in battle is red. (i don't know what else to add, i'm still in shock)



: " I shall now heal your Pokemon."

[fade-to-black transition with healing sound effect]

Hey, he's honorable at the very least.

: "My servant, Dantalion, is waiting at the cave mouth to the east. I'll go and join him. When you have prepared yourself, please join us and I will explain what must be done."


And with that, I think that's a good spot to end off this update. Route 116 is up next and it shouldn't be that bad... right? See you then.

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Current Team:

(Reggie, Level 12, /) - Is waiting for some action
(Bellamine, Level 12, ) - Pondering what exactly is up with Gleis
(Ace, Level 15, /) - HIS DRILL PECK WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS
(Zagon, Level 13, ) - Shaking the blood from that Eye-Eye off of her fur
(Ambes, Level 14, ) - Still crying
(Benedict, Level 9, /) - * shake, shake *

Future Dan Says: If I'm not mistaken, this was the first time the team set-up was properly introduced.

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